letterman

L1E1T1T1E1R1M3A1N1

noun

A student who has attained a specified level of participation in a sporting or other activity, and is awarded a cloth “letter” to be affixed to an item of clothing.

Less commonScrabble 11

Meanings

letterman1

nounletterman (plural lettermen)

plural lettermen

  1. USA student who has attained a specified level of participation in a sporting or other activity, and is awarded a cloth “letter” to be affixed to an item of clothing.

    The children seem to catch their enthusiasm from the energetic instructors, ten of them former lettermen at Kansas universities.

    1967, United States Office of Education, Stepping Up with PACE, page 12
    1 more example

    Cousins told the students of their responsibility emphasizing that the sweaters were given them in recognition by the school that they were the “best in the field.” Coach Smith distributed the dark blue slip over sweaters with a gold block T on the front to the lettermen.

    2000, Cecilia Aros Hunter, Leslie Gene Hunter, Texas A&M University Kingsville, Arcadia Publishing, →ISBN, page 62

Letterman2

proper nounLetterman (plural Lettermans)

plural Lettermans

  1. A surname from German.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see

Origin

letterman · noun

  1. Englishletter
  2. Proto-Indo-European*mon-
  3. Proto-Germanic*mann-
  4. Proto-West Germanic*mann
  5. Old Englishmann
  6. Middle Englishman
  7. Englishletterman

From letter + -man.

Full word history & related roots →

Letterman · proper noun

  1. GermanLettermann
  2. EnglishLetterman

Variant of German Lettermann.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

letterman. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/letterman

MLA

“letterman.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/letterman. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “letterman,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/letterman.

Source: letterman on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.